Swallowing her Pride
by Hollie47
Summary: After an argument with Ruby, Henry knocks some sense into Regina when she lets her pride get in the way of apologising.


The heavy wooden door slammed shut in her face, making her wince at the sound. Regina stood inside her home, taking deep breaths, trying not to set anything on fire. She was not one to let just anyone call her a hypocrite and walk away without a single look back.

Feeling a fireball ignite in her hand, Regina squashed it like she would a heart back before the curse was cast. Another fireball sprung up in its place. Regina knew her magic was tied to her emotions and at the current moment she was losing control of them. She needed a change of scenery other than the foyer.

Pacing back and forth across the kitchen Regina mumbled under her breath as she tossed a fireball into the air and caught it as if it was an everyday thing. She was enraged and her argument with Ruby was the cause of it. The leggy brunette, who she loved, had just slammed a door on her, and was the only person able to affect her emotion state.

"Trying to tell me what we should do," Regina muttered, tossing the fireball again, not even hearing the front door open and close.

"So, what did you do?" Henry asked his mother, putting his school bag on the floor before he leant against the kitchen wall, already decided that he wasn't going to let her out of this talk.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked, extinguishing the fireball and raising an eyebrow at her son while continuing to pace.

"Why was Ruby running down the road crying her eyes out? I know she came from here as I saw her leave the yard. What did you do?" Henry asked again, wanting to know what had hurt the green eyed woman.

"...She was crying?" Regina asked, the anger gone from her voice in an instant, a pang of guilt hitting her square in the chest.

"She was," Henry confirmed. "Her face was covered in tears and I crossed paths with her only two houses down from ours, she didn't even acknowledge me calling her name. What happened? I'm not a child, you can tell me and I want to know."

"You're thirteen, you're still a child and you don't need to know what happened," Regina reminded him, finally stopping her pacing, leaning against one of the black countertops in her kitchen.

"You're just too uptight and afraid that you're wrong. I'm also a teenager, not a child." Meeting his mother's gaze Henry gave her a challenging look.

"I am not uptight," Regina scoffed, moving over to and sitting down at the dining table.

Joining his mother, Henry sat across from her and wasted no time at all before he started to question her again.

"So, what did you do? What happened that made Ruby run out of here crying?"

Sighing loudly, Regina looked at her son. "Ruby and I had an argument and she didn't like my responses. She also wasn't crying when she left."

"What did you argue about?" Henry probed, trying to get more information out of Regina.

Looking at her son, she knew the look of determination when she saw it, he did, after all, get it from her. "We argued about Ruby moving in permanently. She thinks it's about time we lived together as a couple and I laughed at the thought. I'm an independent woman and I don't need anyone to tell me what to do or how to live."

Blinking a few times, Henry opened and closed his mouth, pursing his lips together before settling on what to say. "You are an idiot. Like an actual idiot."

"Excuse me, young man?" Regina, taken aback, thought that she didn't hear him correctly.

"You heard me. You are an idiot. You can't even see what you did wrong and how you hurt her. I don't even think you care that you hurt her."

"I don't think I did anything wrong! And I care about Ruby so much it's not funny! She's the only person apart from you I've let into my heart," Regina exclaimed, her hands flat on the table, the chair knocked back onto the floor.

"Good, you care, and yes, you did do something wrong. And I will tell you what you did wrong after you pick up that chair and sit back down," Henry stated, raising a hand to silence to the dark eyed woman, waiting until she was seated again. "Firstly, you laughed at her. Do you know how much that must have hurt her? The person she loves laughed at her and made her feel like crap. Secondly, you told her you don't need anyone to tell you what to do. I've never seen Ruby tell you what to do ever. She gives suggestions but she has never directly said to go do something. You can still be independent but you have others to think of apart from yourself. Thirdly, you made the woman you love cry. It takes a lot for Ruby to cry so you must have really hurt her. You've been dating for almost two years now I think it's time she moved in properly. She's here all the time anyway."

"Henry, it's not..."

"... Don't," Henry interrupted. "Do you love her?"

"Of course I love her! She means the world to me," Regina replied, shocked her son would ask her that.

"Do you feel bad for hurting her feelings and making her cry?" Henry asked, trying to get his mother to see what she did, knowing what buttons to press.

"I feel like I've got a lump stuck in my throat, I feel guilty and really sad that I made her cry," Regina honestly replied, looking down at her hands.

"I know you want her to move in. Swallow your pride for five seconds, go find her, apologise, and tell her you over reacted." Crossing his arms, Henry looked at Regina until she moved.

Getting up, Regina walked over to Henry and gave him a hug. "You're right, I'll go find her and apologise."

"Now get going, go right when you leave the house," Henry told her, almost pushing her out the front door.

Walking down the street Regina listened to see if she could hear Ruby anywhere. She knew that the green eyed beauty wouldn't have gone far as she never seems to these days but there was still a chance depending on how upset she was. Walking towards the park, Regina checked the playground and the area surrounding it. With no sign of Ruby, Regina continued her search.

Going to the docks, Regina looked around to see if Ruby decided to go for a run. She passed by a group of men attempting to fish and stopped in front of Hook's ship noticing the captain aboard.

"Hook, have you seen Ruby?" she asked, not in the mood for chit chat.

"Did you lose your pet dog again?" he mocked, laughing at Regina's expression.

With a wave of her hand she sent Hook flying overboard. "Ruby is not my pet dog, you moron," she said through gritted teeth, leaving the man to swim back to dry land.

Heading towards the forest, Regina decided to go check the clearing that Ruby liked, the clearing where they had their first picnic as a couple. It was a slightly longer walk that it was to the other places but Regina had a strange feeling that she should check there.

With her head hung low, Regina kicked at a rock that was on the footpath until it went off to the side. She felt bad, guilty, she made the woman she loved cry and the feeling was tearing her apart. Regina could now see what she did wrong, the walk and fresh air clearing her head. All she wanted was to make Ruby happy and she failed at doing so.

Looking up, Regina stopped in front of the forest, not realising that she had gotten lost in her thoughts. Entering through the pathway, Regina made her way toward the clearing, stepping over fallen branches, the leaves crunching beneath her feet.

She could hear the faint sound of someone crying and she instinctively knew who it was. Guilt washed over her as she saw Ruby sitting in the middle of the clearing, hugging her knees. Walking up to her, Regina sat beside the green eyed woman, their legs touching.

Wrapping an arm around Ruby, Regina pulled her close. "I'm sorry Ruby. I was out of line and didn't mean anything that I said."

Feeling Ruby move, Regina laid down on the soft grass and pulled Ruby down with her. Wrapping her arms around Ruby and holding her close, Regina sighed a sigh of relief when she felt Ruby's head resting on her chest. Placing a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead, Regina apologised again.

Laying in silence, Regina did her best to comfort Ruby and to let her know that she was there. She didn't know how long they had been laying on the grass before Ruby was calm enough to speak.

"Why did you laugh at me and the thought of us living together?" Ruby quietly asked, not sure she wanted an answer in case it brought back the flood of tears.

"I don't know. I was scared, scared what people would think of me. They already think I have you under some spell and I didn't want to give them anything more to have a go at me about. I didn't once think about your feelings and I really am sorry. I let my pride get in the way and I hurt you which was the last thing I ever wanted to do," Regina honestly replied, hugging Ruby closer to her.

"We both know you have me under no spell and after two years together you'd think the town would be over it by now. Maybe next time how about you think before you respond and not let your emotions cloud your judgement, my queen," Ruby said, watching Regina nod in agreement.

"I had plenty of time to think while trying to find you and I realise I wrong, and that as according to Henry, I was being an idiot," Regina told Ruby, getting a small laugh from the woman wrapped in her arms.

Sitting up, Regina moved so they were facing each other. She placed a finger under Ruby's chin and moved it up so she was looking into beautiful green eyes. "I love you, Ruby. I'm so in love with you it hurts. I would love nothing more than for you to come and live with me, so we can be a family, together." Noticing a tear rolling down Ruby's cheek, Regina wiped it away with her thumb. "I love you," Regina stated again, smiling at the woman in front of her.

"I love you too, Regina, so much," Ruby replied, leaning in and kissing Regina passionately.

Pulling back, Regina placed a kiss on Ruby's forehead. "Ruby, will you move in with me?" Regina asked again, hoping that their earlier argument wouldn't influence her decision.

"I would love to move in with you," Ruby grinned, pushing Regina to the ground and straddling her.

Holding onto Ruby's arms, Regina pulled the taller woman down onto her, their lips meeting in a heated kiss, tongues fighting for dominance. Feeling Ruby's hands making their way under her shirt, she moaned into the kiss, wanting more.

Breaking the kiss, Ruby trailed a line of soft kisses down Regina's neck, sucking at her pulse point, her hands skimming down Regina's sides, making the older woman moan into her touch. Sitting up, Ruby quickly got off of Regina and smirked, "Let's watch the sun set it's so pretty."

"You are such a tease," Regina said through gritted teeth.

Pulling Regina into her lap, Ruby held her close and they watched as the sun set, turning the sky a beautiful shade of pinks and oranges before the dark blue then black finally settled over them.


End file.
